[jr2]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57609735-94/motorola-unveils-project-ara-for-custom-smartphones/

[rev_posix]

I really hope this takes off.  I would be throwing money at them so damn quickly, it would hurt.

[SypheDMar]

And to think we were talking about the evils of Google a few topics down... This is pretty cool.

[Ghostavo]

I have my doubts this will catch on, see the laptop market as an example.

[Rodo]

Meh.
At the end of the day, it's just a cellphone.
(a.k.a: I don't understand all the fuzz about new mobile tech, even though I own an android cellphone myself)

[rev_posix]

I have my doubts this will catch on, see the laptop market as an example.

How so?  I can't think of any laptop seller on my side of the world that offers anything even close to what this could represent in terms of being able to 'build' a phone that has what you what and potentially be upgradable vs the current buy and toss cycle I see quite often.

That being said, and as much as I hope it does take off, I would be very pleasantly surprised if it did.  Unfortunately, a large portion of the population doesn't know what they really want/need out of a device and take whatever is offered, making projects like this face an uphill battle to gain the necessary traction and critical mass to become fully viable.

Meh.
At the end of the day, it's just a cellphone.
(a.k.a: I don't understand all the fuzz about new mobile tech, even though I own an android cellphone myself)

For you perhaps.    My 'phone' long ago became my PDA, game machine, and mobile 'net access device with phone functionality.  It's far from 'just a cell phone' for me.

[Ghostavo]

I have my doubts this will catch on, see the laptop market as an example.

How so?  I can't think of any laptop seller on my side of the world that offers anything even close to what this could represent in terms of being able to 'build' a phone that has what you what and potentially be upgradable vs the current buy and toss cycle I see quite often.

There have been some attempts in the past to build some laptops like you would a tower PC, but in the end there are many problems, some technical, some to do with the companies involved.

In the case of cellphones, you have at least two issues to deal with.

1. Is the modular cellphone going to offer enough value to make an integrated solution worse?
In this issue is particularly interesting to compare with laptops, since cellphones have an even more restrictive form factor.

Modern cellphones are often built around a specific component, usually the battery, and kinda squish the remaining components around it. If the modular cellphone is going to look like it does in the early design ideas and concepts, the battery would be one of the modular components. Due to this, we can see that with less integration of the other components into a single block, this modular phone is going to have to make some compromises regarding either battery capacity, features, size or just plain old price.

2. Is it in the interest of cellphone manufacturers to emulate the tower PC market?
This is basically the issue that kills it, even if the technical issues are solved. As it is, the cellphone's lack of modularity enables the manufacturers to charge pretty much what they want, especially for high end phones. If the modular cellphone takes off and solves the technical issues, the premium price for high end phones, and pretty much everything else, vanishes.

These two I find are the main issues, but there are some more, compare the amount of people who build their own PCs with the amount of people that just buy a standard model off the shop, the need for several companies to standardize an integration specification so different manufacturers' parts are compatible, the lack of exclusive models will probably create some carrier-manufacturer dynamic issues, etc.

It's an interesting idea, which I would have loved to see popularized in laptops, but there are just too many conflicts of interest between every party involved in the whole cellphone market.

P.S.
Why the sticky?

[Nuke]

idk

[Ghostavo]

Nailed it

But the devices are difficult to bring to market because their interchangeable parts make them bulky and costly to produce

[Luis Dias]

I can see why developers would love this idea.

I can't for the life of me see how on ****ing Earth Google and Motorola don't see how this won't ever take off in custumer land that is the rest of the ****ing world. They are stuck in their own bubble, is all I can figure.

IOW, this is why Apple is still winning the smartphone market. They know most costumers don't really ****ing care about the **** that is in their palm of their hands, they just care that it works and isn't a pain in the ass to maintain. The less most people have to worry or care about their phones, the better. And yet, these people don't even see that. ****ing hell.

[Phantom Hoover]

...Apple are not 'winning' the smartphone market, they've carved out a strong niche but in fact Android ate a very large fraction of their market share.

This thing was a stupid idea, though, in a market where modular laptops are extremely obscure due to the engineering challenges involved.

[LaineyBugsDaddy]

The idea is actually brilliant. It's just that most people aren't willing to put in the effort it takes, and they're worried about bulk. I would love to have a roll my own android phone where I could add extra battery for whatever just by discarding an unneeded module, or perhaps one that everything is on microSD instead of internal flash memory, if that were possible. As for bulk, bring it on. I miss the mass of my HTC Tilt 2. It was substantial and much harder for me to lose track of. Hell, I still have it. Just don't have any service to use it with, and it's hard to find apps for it, seeing as it's a Windows Mobile platform, though I have heard of people working on at least a Gingerbread Android system image for it a while back.

EDIT: Just did a bit of research again. Looks like someone managed to put together a FroYo packacke for the Tilt 2, not Gingerbread.

EDIT: And someone did an unofficial Cyanongen Mod 7.2 as well...

[Phantom Hoover]

The problem is that due to the engineering sacrifices required by modularity you could actually just build a smaller, cheaper phone with more battery life etc. than every modular configuration at once. It was just a ****ty idea, full stop. Like, think of how much of the phone's volume would be wasted just on modular casing and connectors.

[Luis Dias]

The idea is actually brilliant.

Here's my prediction: it will be a complete flop. Apart from the so-called "powerusers", or people with skills and time on their hands, no one will buy this piece of ****. Mark my words.

[LaineyBugsDaddy]

I never said it would succeed. A lot of brilliant ideas don't end up being commercially viable. I would like to do it. And based on some of the design idead I've seen for it, I don't believe that there would be that many engineering sacrifices. The point is not to make a phone that's small with a long battery life. The point is to be able to swap out parts as needed, including extra battery. Hell, if it were me, I'd want to be able to make one with a slide-out keyboard (landscape orientation, as my thumbs and something like a blackberry keyboard to NOT get along), which would let me have more places to put modules. I can see it in my head. IMO, though, the best way to do this would be the Heath kit model. Sell it as project kits for people who want to design their own phone configuration.

One additional benefit I can think of. The radio module could be replaced to upgrade to the latest wifi or bluetooth version if this was a thing. Hell, you could get a radio module that didn't have bluetooth if you wanted to. (A lot of people see bluetooth as a serious security vulnerability.)

[The E]

And based on some of the design idead I've seen for it, I don't believe that there would be that many engineering sacrifices.

Connectors take up space. Then you need to factor in all the framing required to secure modules in place. You need to make all these contact points reasonably sturdy so they can survive repeated changes in configuration. They need to be able to survive in the environs you usually use a phone in (including carrying it around). Then each module needs to be a sealed unit, which takes up even more space.

End result is a phone that is considerably more bulky for a feature that few, if any, of its users are ever going to use.

The point is not to make a phone that's small with a long battery life. The point is to be able to swap out parts as needed, including extra battery. Hell, if it were me, I'd want to be able to make one with a slide-out keyboard (landscape orientation, as my thumbs and something like a blackberry keyboard to NOT get along), which would let me have more places to put modules.

Which would mean adding a module that takes up not only one module slot, but also has to cover the entire backside of the phone, which would conflict with larger battery packs or cameras.

And "swap parts as needed"? That's not going to be a feature people would use. Most users would choose one configuration and then stick with it through the device's lifetime, at which point this whole module swapping thing is something that could just as well be done on a factory floor prior to shipping the device to a customer (similar to what Motorola was already doing).

One additional benefit I can think of. The radio module could be replaced to upgrade to the latest wifi or bluetooth version if this was a thing. Hell, you could get a radio module that didn't have bluetooth if you wanted to. (A lot of people see bluetooth as a serious security vulnerability.)

Except that's not a thing. The radio units for modern phones are all capable of doing all the various protocols, disabling bluetooth is a software thing in these things, not a hardware one. (Also, the standards aren't evolving that fast)

[Phantom Hoover]

Man I'm honestly not sure I ever saw a decent use-case for the modularity except 'you can put a better battery in if you want'. The reason smartphones have been so successful is that the basic package of computer-touchscreen-radio-camera-speakers-microphone, fitting in your pocket, provides a platform that can be adapted to a huge variety of functions. There's no point in removing any of those things when almost everyone uses them, and I never saw any additional functionality suggested that wasn't a stupid gimmick like a laser pointer that could easily be provided by separate hardware. All it seemed to offer was upgradability of those core components, and I don't see why anyone thinks it's better to upgrade your CPU in 6 months and your screen 6 months after that and your camera 6 months later still than to just upgrade your phone every two years.

[LaineyBugsDaddy]

Well, here's one you can't argue with. Repairs. On a modular phone, if a part breaks, like the screen, take the screen module off and put a new one on. No fuss, no send it in for a warranty replacement that could take weeks or months to do, just pop the old one off, pop on a new one, and done in minutes. At worst, wait for a new part to be sent.

[Phantom Hoover]

You don't need modularity for that, just a phone that can be repaired with standard tools. If you crack your screen you likely don't even have a new one to hand, you don't need to be able to snap a new one in within seconds.

[Dragon]

I suppose it'd be easier if changing things such as screen, speakers and microphone didn't involve soldering. That's what modularity is good for. Not everyone's got a soldering iron and the skill not to screw up the process. If the screen and other components could be unscrewed and unplugged from the "motherboard", it'd make changing them a lot less difficult for the average user.